Badshah responds to plagiarism charges against Genda Phool

Rapper Badshah has responded to the plagiarism against his latest single, Genda Phool. The song, which was released on March 26 and features Jacqueline Fernandez in the music video, borrows lyrics from the Bengali folk song Boroloker Biti Lo, written by Ratan Kahar in the 1970s. Ratan, who is said to live in dire poverty, has not been credited on the track. 

In an online statement, Badshah maintained that the original creator has not been credited in any previous versions of the song. “We had however done our due diligence before releasing the song, and nowhere on any copyright societies or on any of the previous reprises/versions of the song was Mr Ratan Kahar credited as a lyricist,” Badshah wrote. “Information all across say that Boroloker Beti Lo is a traditional/folk song from the Bauls of Bengal. Just for general information, traditional songs are open for recreations/reprises/sampling globally.” 

The rapper claimed he has been trying to reach out to Ratan Kahar, who resides in the Birbhum district of West Bengal. However, owing to the coronavirus lockdown, he hasn’t been able to establish contact. 

“After receiving so much information from the Bengali community, I have been constantly trying my best to reach out to him and connect with him and be able to do justice to the situation to all my might. However, the lockdown situation has not been very helpful, it has been difficult to get through to the village that Shri Kahar is in and I am still trying," Badshah wrote.